The Democratic Alliance (DA) will write to the MEC for Transport, Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya, to implement an offender’s register for traffic officials in the Limpopo Department.
This call comes amidst a video that is currently doing the rounds on social media of a traffic official brazenly accepting what appears to bribes from 2 men on the roadside next to a Limpopo traffic vehicle.
Over the past number of years Limpopo has been plagued by allegations of corrupt Transport Department officials, testing station officials and traffic officers.
In 2019 an SIU report identified 43 Limpopo traffic officials involved in serous crimes like fraud and corruption.
An offender register would instil confidence in the department and its ability to be transparent and hold officials accountable for their conduct.
It would also assist in monitoring whether officials that are found guilty have been dismissed, subjected to consequence management and in cases of dismissal also ensure they are never rehired elsewhere within the department’s institutions.
Although the DA welcomes the investigation of the incident by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), it is concerning that the department remains mum on the incident.
The traffic official’s identity would not be hard to determine and from the video the 2 men who allegedly paid the bribes are clearly visible.
The DA calls upon MEC Lerule-Ramakhanya to ensure that the incident is investigated and if the evidence correlates with those seen on the video, that the matter be handed over to SAPS for criminal investigations.
The DA will monitor this case closely to ensure that consequence management is implemented
Corruption has brought our country to its knees, deepening inequality and exacerbating poverty. The DA will fight corruption at all levels to ensure that the taxpayers’ money benefit the citizens and not corrupt officials.